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If you’re going to be in New York soon, you might want to check out a Broadway play. Here are some science fiction, fantasy and horror options now playing.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
I was fortunate enough to see this musical when it was in Los Angeles about nine years back. Tom Bosley (of Happy Days) played Belle’s father. It was fantastic. I highly recommend it. Beauty and the Beast first opened on April 18, 1994, and is playing at the Lunt Fontanne Theater at 205 West 46th Street.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
This classic holiday story is now a musical. Making its Broadway debut, it is available for only for a Special Limited Engagement. It will be playing at the Hilton Theatre on 214 West 43rd Street from November 8 to January 7, with previews playing October 25 - November 8.

Mary Poppins
Making its Broadway debut on November 16, 2006, is a musical based on this Disney classic. It not only features songs you remember from the movie, but new songs written just for this musical. It will be playing at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 214 West 42nd Street.

The Phantom of the Opera
Still going strong, The Phantom of the Opera musical has inspired a film version, which came out in 2004. The Phantom of the Opera opened on January 26, 1988, and is playing at the Majestic Theatre on 247 West 44th Street.

Spamalot
This musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail opened on March 17, 2005, and is still quite popular. It is playing at the Shubert Theatre on 225 West 44th Street.

Tarzan
Like Beauty and the Beast, this musical is based on the Disney animated movie of the same name. Featuring the music of six-time Grammy Award winner Phil Collins, it is sure to be a treat. Tarzan opened May 10, 2006 and is playing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on 226 West 46th Street.

Wicked
How did the Wicked Witch of the West become wicked? This musical based on The Wizard of Oz characters tells that tale. Wicked opened October 30, 2003, and in playing at the Gershwin Theatre on 222 West 51 Street.

For more information about these and other shows on and off Broadway, visit www.broadway.com.

“What would happen if our favourite horror film characters Freddie Krugger, Michael Myers (Halloween) and Jason (Friday 13th) took a break from their hectic killing spree's, put down their weapons of murder, had a few beers and picked up musical instruments?” asks NoiseRecords.com.

Their answer? Lordi.

Lordi is a Finnish heavy metal band who dress in monster costumes, and have recently won the 51st Eurovision Song Contest in Athens with their song, “Hard Rock Hallelujah.”

This was quite a surprise, for Eurovision usually awards catchy pop and big ballads -- Abba was a past winner. “How weird is this? How cool is this?” said lead singer, who is also called Lordi. “Think about it, a rock band just won a pop song contest. This is weird, strange, interesting. We won the contest, looking like this. It just goes to show that Europe is not such a bad place.”

Artists from 37 countries took part in Eurovision this year; including for the first time Armenia. Votes were cast during a ten-minute voting window at the end of the Final. A centralized pan-European televoting platform allowed viewers from the 38 European countries to cast votes via telephone and SMS. The system was coordinated and developed especially for the contest by German-based telecom service provider digame.

With their heavy metal attitude and their scary demon costumes, the band has been accused by some conservative Greek organizations of promoting Satanism, however they affirm that they have no connection with the occult. "We have nothing to do with Satan worshipping or anything like that - this is entertainment," Lordi said.

Because Lordi prevailed, Finland has won the right to host next year’s contest, which Finnish tourism professionals hope will fuel tourism to the country. "Lordi and their song, Hard Rock Hallelujah, have certainly helped strengthen Finland's position on the rock music map," said Anne Lind, director of the Finnish Tourist Board.

She adds that Finland has a lot to offer music lovers. "Whether they want the heavy sounds of rock or the more intimate strains of a string quartet, they will not be disappointed," said Lind. "After all, we have nearly 80 mainstream music festivals taking place through the summer, and a whole host of other events which combine to celebrate summer in Finland."

Just for kicks, I went to their official website and listened to the three songs they posted there. Now, I’m not much of a heavy metal fan, but I kind of liked the songs. And, since I’m a big fan of silly lyrics (Thomas Dolbly’s Aliens Ate My Buick is my favorite album and I love Weird Al Yankovic), I found lyrics such as, “The devil is a looser and he’s my bitch,” to be a hoot!

NoiseRecords.com describes Lordi this way: they look like “they have escaped from the cast of an Evil Dead movie" and sound "like a cross between KISS and Rob Zombie” and that “this is the most fun you can have without incurring a lengthy sentence in prison.”

Apparently, “Lordi are a household name in their native Finland with over 50,000 sales and a #1 single with "Would you love a Monsterman" from their debut album "Get Heavy" released in 2002,” according to NoiseRecords.con. You can watch the video for this song and two other at their website. I have to admit that “Would you love Monsterman” was favorite of the selection provided.

For More Information:
Noise Records Lordi Page: www.noiserecords.com/lordi/bio.html
Lordi’s Official Website: http://www.lordi.org

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Once upon a time, a man named Tim Burton wrote a story about a boy who was part oyster. Now, the Inbal Pinto Dance Company has brought Burton's unique Ed Gory-esque tale to the stage. If you happen to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you might want to check it out.

Described by The Village Voice as "Part surreal vaudeville, part circus, and part toy store after midnight", "Oyster"  will premier at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco tomorrow and play through Sunday.

Burton's "The Melancholic Death of Oyster Boy" is a rhyming (think Dr. Seuss) children's story of a bivalve boy who meets a terrible end. You can read the story and see Burton's drawings for it at homepage.eircom.net/~sebulbac/burton/oysterboy.html.

Choreographer and designer Inbal Pinto was inspired by this tale to create "Oyster" with artistic director Avshalom Pollak. According to UC Davis's website, the one-hour show is like something Burton would create if he "directed a Cirque du Soleil show starring a modern dance company." Oyster is a series of circus-like vignettes "at once comical, grotesque and strangely beautiful," the website continues. "Each skit is perverse in its own way, featuring a crazed, red-headed ballerina with a stool fastened to her posterior, armless dancers in tuxedos, an aerial pas de deux, bodyless dancing legs, performers on strings, and plenty of bizarre clowns and mimes." A video clip of the performance is available at www.wpas.org/performances/event.php?id=148.

Pinto is a former member of Batsheva Dance Company and has received numerous dance awards since she began choreographing in 1990. Her company of 12 performers is based in Isreal and is currently on a U.S. tour. They performed "Oyster" in Washington, DC, in April, and in Portland, Ore., yesterday.

DETAILS:
Fri, May 5, 2006: 8pm
Sat, May 6, 2006: 8pm
Sun, May 7, 2006: 2pm
The May 6 performance is followed by a a post-performance discussion, Q&A and reception hosted by the Israel Center.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
700 Howard Street, San Francisco
www.ybca.org/b_ybca.html

Fri, May 12, 2006: 8pm
Sat, May 13, 2006: 8pm
Each performance is followed by a post performance artist Q&A.
Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
www.mondaviarts.org

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After the success of the stage version of his 1968 movie The Producers, Mel Brooks hopes to strike gold again by adapting his 1974 film Young Frankenstein for the musical theatre. What the hey? It already had one musical number -- the monster performing “Puttin’ on the Ritz” -- why not more?

“Whether it comes out or not, I don't know,” says Brooks, “but we're having fun working on it. I have six or seven songs written for it."

Brooks is working with The Producers choreographer and director Susan Stroman, and plans to make a formal announcement to raise money once the script, lyrics and score are complete.

"Mel has written 10 new songs, and they're very funny," Stroman said. "It's a year and a half away from opening on Broadway."

In the movie, Gene Wilder played the grandson of the original Dr. Frankenstein, and there are rumors that, just as Matthew Broderick stepped into Wilder’s role in The Producers, he may do it again for Young Frankenstein. When asked his opinion, Broderick was quoted as saying, “That would be wonderful.”

Roger Bart, who plays Carmen Ghia in The Producers, is said to have his eye on playing Igor, originally -- and wonderfully -- played by Marty Feldman. “My posture's already bad, so I'm perfect for it.”

Brooks feels that Young Frankenstein, in which he lovingly spoofed the 1930s Frankenstein films of director James Whale, is the best movie he ever made. It was nominated for two Oscars (Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay), two Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy for Cloris Leachman and Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Madeline Kahn), and one WGA Award (Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium). It won Golden Scrolls for Best Director (Mel Brooks), Best Horror Film, Best Make-Up (William Tuttle), Best Set Decoration (Robert De Vestel and Dale Hennesy), and Best Supporting Actor (Marty Feldman); as well as a Hugo and a Nebula and a Golden Screen.

Since this is one of his favorite works, Brooks is excited about the project. "It is going to be wonderful," Brooks said in a telephone interview with Reuters, and then burst into a German-accented version of his Frau Blucher (originally played by Cloris Leachman) song:

"He vus my boyfriend
He vould come home in a snit
He vould have a terrible fit
I am the first thing he vould hit
But I didn't give a s---
He vus my boyfriend."

Expedition Everest
Disney World's "Expedition Everest" ride, mentioned on page 6 of the January issue of The Genre Traveler, was unveiled for 1,500 travel trade professionals and media last Friday, April 7. The 3.5 minute ride was a collaborative effort between Walt Disney Imagineering, The Discovery Channel and Conservation International.

For more information, visit www.disneyeverest.com/?CMP=KNC-EverestGoogle&HBX_PK=Expedition+Everest&HBX_OU=50

Sci-Fi Fan Trips
More details for the Sci-Fi Fan Trips at Space Camp, mentioned on page 28 of the April issue of The Genre Traveler, have been released. Activities in the package include:

• Laser Weaponry Training
• X-Prize model Rocket Construction and Launch
• Space Missions in actual NASA-patterned vehicles
• Panel discussions by NASA scientists and science fiction authors
• Star gazing with an astronomer, and
• Alien Costume "Part of the Galaxy" and Award Banquet

The party will include a themed menu, award presentations and karaoke.

For more information, vis www.sci-fi-fantrips.com

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The Genre Traveler Trip to Toronto to See Lord of the Rings Moved to October

NOTE: The May trip to Toronto has been pushed back to October. Details on this Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Tour of World Premiere Lord of the Rings Musical Available Only from The Genre Traveler and Beyond Boundaries Travel will be available at thegenretraveler.0catch.com/LOTRTour.htm soon.

A Kevin Wallace Limited production. Based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Written & produced under license from The Saul Zaentz Co. (SZC). ™and ®SZC under license. All rights reserved. ©Kevin Wallace Limited 2005.